1. Chapter 5
Rhythms that dance

2. What is Dance? What is it? Why do we do it?
“The truest expression of a people is in its dance and in its music. Bodies never lie.” – Agnes de Mille

3. Irish Ceili & Step-Dancing
Irish settlers’ music influenced American folk music
Jig: Triple Meter with up-and-down movement
Reels: Duple Meter with weaving movement
Ceili: Scottish and Irish social dances
Step-Dancing: close-to-ground footwork; beats rhythm to music with feet (called clogging in Vaudeville shows)
Riverdance, a show in 1994 televised from Dublin, combined traditional step dancing with new music and contemporary costumes.

4. Mexican-American Conjunto Dances
Conjunto – Dance music created by Mexicans in Texas
Uses duple polka rhythm
Button accordion, bajo sexto (12 string Mexican guitar), electric bass guitar, & drum set
Spanish lyrics sung in close harmony
Parallel thirds

5. Hawaiian Hula
Popularity grew with Hawaii entertainment industry starting in 1950s
Accompanied by ukulele and ipu heke (idiophone created from two gourds)
Hula kahiko: ancient hula developed thousands of years ago by original Polynesian settlers
Mele: poetry in physical form; interpreted by body movements/gestures; Family histories, life stories, history narratations
Ho’opa’a: chanters and instrumentalists

6. Classical Dance Ballet
Western classical dance; roots in European court dances (Italy and France) during 16th Century
Danced as part of royal pageants; told stories in many scenes
Basics established during reign of Louis XIV in France with state-supported academies
Russia played big role in creation and proliferation of ballet in 19th Century
The Nutcracker is the most frequently performed Christmas ballet in North America

7. Classical Dance Ballet Breaks New Ground
Ballets Russes: Russian ballet company formed in Paris by Sergei Diaghilev
1913: Vaslav Nijinsky choreographed The Rite of Spring based on music by Igor Stravinsky
Based on prehistoric Russian history with pagan storyline
Music and dance broke all conventional rules of French ballet
French patrons broke out in a riot during premiere
The Rite of Spring now central modernist work

8. Theatrical Dance (Classical Dance cont’d...)
Late 19th/Early 20th century minstrel shows, operettas, and vaudeville shows
Minstrel Shows – Racially charged entertainment; blackface by white actors
Operettas – “Light” operas; fun and not too serious as opposed to operas
Vaudeville – Comic theatrical piece combining dialogue, dancing, and song
Standard in Broadway musicals, such as West Side Story
Modern Day version of Romeo and Juliet
Jazz Music to convey the youthful spirit
Different style dances depict tension between two gangs
Shark’s (Puerto Rican) using Latin American dance rhythms

9. Popular Dance and Youth Culture
Social trend of the 20th for teenagers to develop new dances and the parents to disapprove of them.
Charleston – Athletic dance that includes kicks and inward leg rotation on syncopated beats
For teenagers, it was a way to break away from the old-fashioned couple dancing into more of an individual expressive form of dance
Dance icon of the Jazz Age
Introduced in an African American musical, Runnin’ Wild, in 1923.
Danced to the tune “Charleston” by James P. Johnson

10. Popular Dance and Youth Culture (cont’d...)
Tap Dancing – Step dance in which foot movements produce audible rhythms
Small metal plates on the soles of the dancer’s shoe
Roots in the African American community; originated from the rhythmic dances on slaves merging with Irish step dancing.
Coordination of the feet and use of the arms keep the dancers balanced and allow them to turn in space.
With the coming of ragtime music, a syncopated tap style called “Buck and Wing” evolved. Footwork was often fast and difficult; made famous by Bill “Bojangles” Robinson

11. Popular Dance and Youth Culture (cont’d...)
Lindy Hop – Jazzy dance in which couples swing, balance, and twirl.
Featured the “breakaway”; partners separated and freely improvised any sort of dance movements before returning back.
Came about after the Jazz Age, which was ended by the Great Depression of the 1930s.
African Americans of Harlem danced out their frustrations in the Savoy ballroom.
Legendary ballroom featured a dance floor a city block long.
Dance bands were led by Count Basie, Duke Ellington, etc

12. Latin Influence
Latin American (especially Cuban) dances became popular in the 1930’s and 40’s
Catchy rhythms, easy and fun to learn
Such as the Conga
Roots of the dance rhythms in Latin American and Caribbean music can be traced back to Africa. Afro-Cuban mixture has had a tremendous impact on social dancing.

13. Latin Influence (cont’d)
Tango – Latin American danced performed at a moderately slow tempo in 4/4
Primary accents are on 1 and 3.
Samba – African-Brazilian dance that is fast and jazzy
Faster than the Tango
More syncopation.
Fast 4/4 can be felt in strong “two-beat” groups